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Why didn't a majority of Americans vote in the presidential primaries?
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In Australia, voting is compulsory.We get fined if we don't vote.
Is everyone eligible to vote in primaries in the US? Don't you need to be a member of Dem or Rep party to vote?In some countries primaries are open only for party members. What's the logic of Dem supporter voting for who to be Rep nominee and vice versa?
It's after the parties choose their nominees they come to the general public for their support in race versus other parties. But maybe in the States it's different. Would like to know...
BTW, the participation in many elections, referendum, etc worldwide rarely goes above 70% of eligible voters... Sometimes less then 50% show up.. Of course, it depends on countries. Here is what Wikipedia says:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter_t...
Why? Laziness. It's really easy to say there is no choice, or disillusioned, or this, or that. But you have to think for yourself. And most people would rather not. People need to motivate themselves.
Alex G wrote: "How can we encourage voter turnout? "Phone apps for voting. One of my friends who lives in Washington state said they are allowed to vote by fax or email. I was really surprised at that.
(thanks, Marie, for her OP pointing to this article)
221 million (eligible voters)
-88 million (who never vote (I believe based on 2012 data))
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133 million
-73 million who didn't vote but probably did in the general election
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60 million
In the primaries, there were 30 million votes for either Clinton or Trump out of 60 million votes cast; that is, 30/133 million = 22.5%
Graeme pointed out that the majority of eligible voters did not vote in the primary for president.
In particular, what percent of that 88 million are disenfranchised or apathetic?
How can we encourage voter turnout?